Statewide score wrap: Community comes first for Tully's English brigade

Author: Jacob Grams QRL community content producer
Timestamp: Mon 18 Mar 2024, 03:19 PM

A bit of culture shock, a few extremes and the most daunting opening to a season is providing everything Tully Tigers' English recruits need to know to make 2024 a success.

The job of Charlie Abraham, Rio McQuistan and Jack Newbegin is to support and bring out the best of the local talents around the sugar cane town and a 32-22 defeat to reigning FNQRL A grade men's premiers Cairns Brothers on Sunday was a promising start.

But the results are not the be all and end all.

It's about digging deep for the person next to you and for the community - something they've all experienced in the town's flooding in recent months.

Although Tully's status as the wettest town in Queensland was in question for halfback Charlie Abraham when he arrived in the tropical north.

“When I first got here back in October, it was dry," the 20-year-old said.

"Everyone told me about Tully being the wettest town, but when I got in I don’t think it rained for about six weeks, and I was begging for rain, it was just brown and stinking hot and it was a pretty weird start to my time here.

“Then the heavens opened and we got flooded twice."

Jack Newbegin, Rio McQuistan, returning player Jay Scriven and Charlie Abraham. Photo: Supplied

Having gone through a similar experience when playing for Mullumbimby in northern New South Wales in 2022, Abraham knew it was only right to roll up his sleeves and do whatever was needed around town.

“They’ve given us a good opportunity being here, and being a country town, everyone here looks after you, as long as you’re a good bloke," he said.

“The team here is Tully. The whole town looks forward to the football on the weekend and I’m lucky enough to be here playing for them and I think it’s only right to chip in and help out.

“Volunteers are everything in country football, so I think as players you should chip in as well, not just be leaving it to other people giving it their time.

“At the end of the day it’s your field, your stadium you’re using."

The hard work may well have been the ideal way for the boy from Wakefield to prepare for the tough, uncompromising nature of bush footy.

It's something he hopes will add to his skill set forged from time in reserve grade for Super League side Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

“I’m not your standard halfback, pretty big, tall, like to get my hands on the ball and run more than other halfbacks do, but I’ve always been an organising player, so I can add maybe something different to what people have seen here," Abraham said.

For Rio McQuistan, the desire the chip comes as "second nature", passed to him through generations of family involvement in the game back home in Millom.

He and Jack Newbegin were straight on to clean-up crew when he arrived in January, tidying up the flood-affected old grandstand at Tully Showgrounds, where the club kept some equipment.

“I think at home we’d do the exact same thing for our club," McQuistan said.

"It’s our club, isn’t it? We all need to help out where we can and that's what we needed to do, so that was just it.

“It’s probably come from a lot of my uncles and my grandad. They were big in my club at home... and they’ve passed it on to us."

The former England Under 19 and England Under 23 second rower said a few things about Tully reminded him of home, particularly the close-knit nature of the club and community.

“It’s pretty similar to home, apart from it’s absolutely red-hot," McQuistan said,

“The day we came over it was -6 at home and we were getting off the plane and it was like 35C at 11 o’clock at night, but it’s been nice, a real close-knit community, everyone’s friendly and welcomed us, so it’s been good."

Now to test themselves against the best of the Far North.

"You couldn’t ask for a tougher start, but that’s probably exactly what we wanted," he said.

"It’s best to get it out of the way and see where you’re at, and if you want to win it, you want to beat the best don’t you?

"We’ll do that and set a benchmark to go on."

Tully Tigers player-coach Colin Wilkie - a former Northern Pride and Italy representative - said the character of the trio, joining another Englishman in Jay Scriven, was the most critical part of figuring out who to bring to the club.

And considering how quickly they've won over the community, it's already proven successful.